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Free Printable Camp Scavenger Hunt for Kids (+ Lists)

A free printable scavenger hunt is the easiest way to turn "I'm bored" into an hour of kids happily roaming the campsite. Hand them a list, point at the trees, and go. It works for every age — little ones hunt for "something green," older kids race to find an animal track — and it needs nothing but the list and a place to look. Below are our hunts, free to use, sorted by kind. Want them on paper to take where there's no signal? Grab the printable pack.

Get the free Scavenger Hunt printable — four checklists, ready to print and pack.

How to play a scavenger hunt at camp

There's no wrong way. Hand out the lists on the drive in, around the campsite, or at the trailhead before a hike, and let them go. Give each kid or team a list and a pencil to check things off — or just have them point and shout. Set two rules up front: a boundary ("stay where you can see the tent") and a time limit — ten or fifteen minutes is plenty. First to find everything wins, or just work down the list together; the finding is the fun, no prizes required. Make it cooperative for little kids and a race for older ones. For non-readers, use the Junior list and pair them with a buddy. If you're hunting with little ones, keep the "look, don't touch" rule sharp — especially for mushrooms and anything they don't recognize.

Find it, don't take it

On public land — and especially in state and national parks — picking flowers, taking rocks, or collecting "treasures" is usually against the rules and rough on the place. So the hunt is spot it, don't pocket it: point, photograph, or check it off, then leave it where it lives. It's the whole Leave No Trace idea in kid form, and it makes the game something you can play anywhere, every trip.

Make it your own

The lists below work most places, but it's easy to tailor:

  • At the beach? Swap in a seashell, a piece of driftwood, a crab, a smooth piece of sea glass.
  • In the mountains? Add a granite boulder, a pinecone from a specific tree, a chipmunk.
  • Little kids who can't read yet? Draw or print pictures instead of words, or pair them with an older sibling.
  • Add one bonus "hard" find to chase — an animal track, or a leaf from five different trees.

Nature scavenger hunt (daytime)

  • Something smooth and something rough
  • A leaf bigger than your hand
  • A feather
  • An animal track
  • A Y-shaped stick
  • Three different kinds of leaves
  • Something red that isn't a person
  • A pinecone
  • A rock with a stripe in it
  • A patch of moss
  • A spider web (look, don't touch)
  • Something an animal has been eating — a nibbled leaf, a cracked nut
  • A cloud shaped like something

Around-the-campsite hunt

  • The tallest tree you can see
  • A trail marker or sign
  • A bird (bonus if you can name it)
  • A body of water
  • Someone roasting a marshmallow
  • Smoke from a campfire
  • A bug doing a job (carrying, digging, climbing)
  • The best hiding spot you can find

After-dark hunt (bring a flashlight)

  • The moon — what shape is it tonight?
  • Two stars that look close together
  • The Big Dipper
  • A moth or bug near a lantern
  • The sound of an owl or a frog (you only have to hear this one)
  • The darkest spot in camp, and the brightest

Junior hunt (for the littlest)

  • Something green
  • A stick
  • A rock
  • Something soft
  • A bug
  • Something round
  • A flower
  • Your own footprint

When the sun goes down

The scavenger hunt is the daytime move; when the fire's lit, roll into campfire games — the night-time version of keeping the kids happily busy.

The next level: geocaching

Once your kids are hooked on hunting, there's a real-world version waiting: geocaching. People hide little weatherproof containers — "caches" — at GPS coordinates all over the world, and you find them with a free app. There are millions of them, and good odds some are hidden near your campground right now. It's free to start, it's wholesome, and it scratches exactly the itch a scavenger hunt creates. See how many are near you at geocaching.com and grab the free official app.

Ready to gear up?

The free app on your phone is all you need to start — promise. But once you're hooked, a dedicated handheld earns its keep where phones struggle: deep in the trees and at campgrounds where signal is thin and the battery drains fast. The Garmin eTrex 22x is the affordable sweet spot — rugged and water-resistant, runs all day on two AA batteries, and simple enough for a kid to hold. It has paperless geocaching built in, so you can load caches straight from Geocaching.com. And because it comes with real color trail maps preloaded, it's not just a cache-finder — it's the thing that gets you back to the campsite, too. Garmin eTrex 22x on Amazon

More games around the fire: Campfire games.

Common questions

What is a good scavenger hunt for kids while camping?
A nature scavenger hunt works best at camp: give kids a list of things to find nearby — a feather, an animal track, a Y-shaped stick, three kinds of leaves — with a boundary and a time limit. Spot and check off items rather than collecting them, so it's fair to the place and allowed in parks.
How do you make a camping scavenger hunt?
Write a list of things kids can find around the campsite, sorted by age if needed, hand each kid or team a copy and a pencil, set a boundary and a time limit, and make it cooperative for little ones or a race for older kids. A free printable pack with four checklists makes setup instant.
What can kids find on a nature scavenger hunt?
Common finds include a feather, a pinecone, an animal track, a leaf bigger than their hand, a striped rock, moss, a spider web, and something an animal has been eating. For little ones, simpler targets like something green, a stick, a rock, and something soft work well.
Can you do a scavenger hunt on the drive to the campground?
Yes — many of the finds work as spot-it items from the car (a bird, something red, a cloud shape), which makes a scavenger hunt a great way to survive the last hour of the drive.
Do you need prizes for a camp scavenger hunt?
Not at all. For kids the finding is the reward. If you want a little extra motivation, the winner picks the night's s'mores order or the first campfire game.
What is geocaching and how is it different from a scavenger hunt?
Geocaching is a real-world treasure hunt where people hide small containers at GPS coordinates and others find them using a free app. It's like a scavenger hunt that never ends and spans the whole world — a natural next step once kids love hunting, and there are likely caches near your campground.

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